More than 17 million Americans have already cast ballots in the 2020 election, a record-shattering avalanche of early votes driven both by Democratic enthusiasm and a pandemic that has transformed the way the nation votes.

Americans’ rush to vote is leading election experts to predict that a record 150 million votes may be cast and turnout rates could be higher than in any presidential election since 1908.

Republicans argue that these signs of enthusiasm are meaningless. Democratic early voters are people who would have voted anyway, they say.

About 8,000 people landed in Hawaii on the first day of a pre-travel testing program that allowed travelers to come to the islands without quarantining for two weeks if they could produce a negative coronavirus test.

The new testing program is an effort to stem the devastating downturn the pandemic has had on Hawaii’s tourism-based economy. More than 100 of Hawaii’s approximately 4,000 restaurants, bakeries and caterers have closed permanently and more than 50% predict they will not survive the coming months, officials have said.

Hawaii, which has about 1.4 million residents, reported 10 additional coronavirus deaths and more than 100 newly confirmed cases on Wednesday. On Oahu, home to the famed Waikiki Beach and the state’s most populated island, the positivity rate was nearly 4%.

County mayors have criticized the state’s plan for a single test prior to flying and want a mandatory second test for all arriving passengers.

The Minnesota Senate easily passed a nearly $1.9 billion public works construction package Thursday, a day after the House finally broke months of partisan stalemate and approved the bill.

The package, known as a bonding bill, was the biggest piece of unfinished business left over from the 2020 regular session, which ended in May. The Senate voted 64-3 to send the bill to Democratic Gov. Tim Walz for his signature.

The bill includes $1.37 billion debt that will be repaid from the state’s general fund, plus some other funding sources. It also includes a tax break for new equipment purchases that’s aimed at main street businesses and farmers, which Republicans had long sought. And it also includes some spending to cover current shortfalls, including money to keep two small correctional facilities open in Togo and Willow River.

Grace Hahn can be reached at grace.hahn@stthomas.edu.